Strategies for Teaching STEM Subjects

The most impactful change I’ve made in my classroom over the past few years is a simple exercise that came out of my work in #engineering education assessment.   At the start of each class period, I spend 1 minute discussing our #learning goals for class that day.   On our course website, I put these goals at the top of the page for each class to remind students what they should be able to do having followed the class, done the practice problems, and read the book.   When writing these goals, I keep the following in mind: 👩🏻🏫  What do my #students need to take with them from this class? 🌏  What fundamental knowledge should they learn, and how does this relate to the real-world? 👩🏻🔬 What is the “action” I want them to do? I try to state goals in a Bloom’s taxonomy framework where their knowledge gains are hierarchical in terms of their ability to do something.   How has doing this helped my students? 🙋🏻♀️ They ask more focused questions during class that show engagement with the goals and material. 👩🏻🎓 They know the goals of their studying and have a sense of mastery when it comes to exam time.   How has this helped me as an #instructor? 🙄 I don’t need to answer that “what’s on the test” question anymore. I point them to the learning goals. 🫶 When they’re stressed, I can better target what information is unclear by asking them “do you know how to do…?” and help them focus on that material. 🧐 It forces me to craft lectures and activities that align with our goals, rather than just what’s in a textbook, making my class more engaging and streamlining material presentation. If we're going to assess students' learning, we need to "write our own exam" by determining what they should know at the end of a course. Why not share this information with them? By letting students know the goals of the course - and thus what we're assessing them on - we empower them. This in no way tells them "how" to get an A. They still have to do the hard work of learning. But it helps them focus their studying efforts and benchmark their attainment.

A blend is usually best. My approach to designing class sessions centers on designing for the learning, not the learner. Though this may be an unpopular instructional philosophy, I find it yields strong, lasting gains. Of course, learners must have adequate prior knowledge, which you can ensure through thoughtful placement and pre-training. This approach combines direct instruction with emotional, cognitive, and reinforcement strategies to maximize learning and retention. Each phase—from preparation to reinforcement—uses proven methods that reduce anxiety, build confidence, and sustain motivation while grounding knowledge in ways that lead to deeper understanding and real-world application. Direct instruction methods (such as Rosenshine and Gagné) offer a structured framework to capture attention, clarify objectives, and reduce initial anxiety. Emotional engagement—connecting material on a personal level—makes learning memorable and supports long-term retention. Reinforcement strategies like spaced repetition, interleaving, and retrieval practice transform new information into long-term memory. These methods help learners revisit and reinforce what they know, making retention easier and confidence stronger, with automaticity as the ultimate goal. Grounding learning in multiple contexts enhances recall and transfer. Teaching concepts across varied situations allows learners to apply knowledge beyond the classroom. Using multimedia principles also reduces cognitive load, supporting efficient encoding and schema-building for faster recall. Active engagement remains critical to meaningful learning. Learners need to “do” something significant with the information provided. Starting with concrete tasks and moving to abstract concepts strengthens understanding. Progressing from simple questions to complex, experience-rooted problems allows learners to apply their knowledge creatively. Reflection provides crucial insights. Requiring reflection in multiple forms—whether writing, discussion, or visual work—deepens understanding and broadens perspectives. Feedback, feedforward, and feedback cycles offer constructive guidance, equipping learners for future challenges and connecting immediate understanding with long-term growth. As learners build skills, gradually reduce guidance to foster independence. When ready, they practice in more unpredictable or “chaotic” scenarios, which strengthens their ability to apply knowledge under pressure. Controlled chaos builds resilience and adaptability—then we can apply more discovery-based methods. Apply: ✅Direct instruction ✅Emotional engagement ✅Reinforcement strategies ✅Multiple contexts ✅Multimedia learning principles ✅Active, meaningful tasks ✅Reflection in varied forms ✅Concrete-to-abstract ✅Questions-to-Problems ✅Feedback cycles ✅Decreasing guidance ✅Practice in chaos ✅Discovery-based methods (advanced learners) Hope this is helpful :) #instructionaldesign #teachingandlearning

Student-centered learning turns classrooms into active, collaborative spaces where students build meaning and develop essential skills. By emphasizing voice, choice, and relevance, teachers become facilitators rather than lecturers. Research shows this approach boosts retention by up to 30%, while also enhancing motivation and social-emotional growth. Each strategy offers unique cognitive and interpersonal benefits that can be woven into daily instruction. Let’s break down the five strategies from the infographic and explore how they can be meaningfully integrated: Partner Response promotes higher-order thinking and verbal fluency by encouraging students to explain complex ideas to peers ideal for bilingual classrooms where language scaffolding supports deeper reasoning. Think-Write-Pair-Share adds a reflective writing step that strengthens memory and metacognition, helping students articulate ideas with clarity. Quartet Quiz combines peer teaching with formative assessment, using rotating roles to build accountability and cooperative learning. Think, Turn & Talk supports quick processing and inclusive participation, ensuring every student engages in brief, meaningful dialogue. Inside & Outside Circle enhances communication skills and empathy through structured peer rotations, fostering active listening and community building across diverse perspectives. Ultimately, student-centered learning isn’t just a pedagogical shift it’s a philosophical commitment to empowerment, equity, and transformation. It prepares students not just to succeed academically, but to thrive as thoughtful, collaborative, and purpose-driven individuals. #TalkToLearnTransform

Ai, Learning and Higher Education: 9 practical tips from The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) 👉🏾 Curriculum Design Considerations - Assume Student Use of GenAI: Plan with the expectation that students will use GenAI tools. - Integrate Non-Marked Activities: Include activities that are not graded but provide feedback on AI use. - Ensure Full Engagement: Prevent GenAI from diminishing students' engagement with the curriculum. Prepare students to progress beyond AI-generated solutions. - Teach Critical Analysis: Emphasize the importance of finding primary sources and critically evaluating AI outputs. - Avoid Underspecified Assignments: Do not attempt to outsmart AI by underspecifying tasks, as future models may overcome these tactics. - Coding Course Guidance: Instruct students on problem identification and correction in coding. Highlight alternative solutions and teach high-level engineering concepts by analyzing and improving AI outputs. 👉🏾 Assessment Design Considerations - Process Mapping: Visualize the learning journey with milestones and check-in points to evaluate students’ progress. - Separate Learning from Final Product: Design continuous assessments throughout the term or incorporate documentation of the development process in end-of-course evaluations. - Measure Individual Learning: Use in-class quizzes at various stages of the term to gauge and support individual student progress. Use these assessments to benchmark final grades against the students' learning journeys. Via Mariana Ferrarelli https://lnkd.in/eNy8Z352

Using LLMs as "Confused Learners" in Inverted Classroom Settings A novel approach in my computer science courses that's yielding fascinating results: Taking inspiration from Richard Feynman's teaching techniques, I've integrated Claude (the LLM) as a "confused learner" into my classroom dynamics. The setup is simple but effective: Claude plays the role of a student who has only superficially engaged with the course material. During plenary sessions, my students and I collaborate to address Claude's questions, which often contain misconceptions or confused understanding. Here's a glimpse from a recent session on web tracking: Claude: "The lecture mentioned something about fingerprinting too, I think? Is that like when they scan my actual fingerprint through my phone screen? That seems really invasive if websites can just access my biometric data without asking." Class: "Fingerprints are not pictures of your computer but more like specifics of your computer like screen size or what operating system you have or how computer is rendering fonts..." Claude: "OK, I think I'm starting to get the combination thing. So it's not just my screen size, but screen size PLUS operating system PLUS fonts PLUS browser plugins and all that stuff together makes me unique? That's actually really creepy when you think about it." This creates a low-stakes environment where students can correct conceptual errors without the anxiety of addressing their own knowledge gaps directly. The LLM asks questions students might hesitate to voice and mixes up concepts in ways that reveal common misconceptions. The LLM forced us to articulate complex concepts in multiple ways, reinforcing understanding through the act of teaching. When explanations fall short, Claude's funny confusion highlighted gaps in our communication. I highly recommend this method. My instructions: "For a lecture on information security and privacy I would like you to act like a confused learner. I (and my students in class) will help you understand the concepts we discussed. When I start a chat with you, you ask me what topic we are discussing, either passwords or tracking. Then, based on prior knowledge you pose somewhat ill-framed questions since you didn't understand the subject matter from the lecture. Sometimes, you mix up concepts, which results in wrong assumptions or wrong understanding. You generally find everything really weird and puzzling, since you only read the material superficially. When I explain things to you, you mirror my thoughts but based on your replies make it clear that you still didn't get it and that you need a better explanation. When I use concepts in my explanation, you sometimes are puzzled about the terms or concepts and ask me to clarify those concepts I mentioned. After a few back and forths, you get bored by me explaining a concept, and you pivot to something else." Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg Fakultät Wirtschaftsinformatik und Angewandte Informatik (WIAI)

⚛️ Introducing Quantum Computing to High-School Curricula: A Global Perspective 📑 Quantum computing is an emerging field with growing implications across science and industry, making early educational exposure increasingly important. This paper examines how quantum computing concepts can be introduced into high-school STEM curricula within existing structures to enhance foundational learning in mathematics, computer science, and physics. We outline a modular integration strategy introducing key quantum ideas into standard courses, leveraging open-source educational resources to ensure global accessibility. Emphasis is placed on educational opportunity and equity: the approach is designed to be inclusive and to bridge current curricular gaps so that students worldwide can develop basic quantum literacy. Our analysis demonstrates that integrating quantum topics at the secondary level is feasible and can enrich STEM learning. ℹ️ Gragera-Garcés et al, 2025 💭 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘺 María 𝘢𝘯𝘥 Juan.

It is the start of the semester, and for many it will be their first time teaching. Teaching can feel like being thrown into the deep end, especially for new professors. Many of us, including myself, received little to no formal training on teaching. We were told, "Here's your classroom, now go teach," and we had to figure it out through trial and error. I learned most of what I know about effective teaching from observing great instructors and by constantly experimenting in my own classroom. The good news is that there are fundamental principles of pedagogy supported by research that can help. Here is some of what I've learned. 1. Activate Prior Knowledge - Students build new knowledge on the foundations of what they already know. Before introducing a new concept, I help them make connections to past experiences or previously learned material. This primes their brains and gives the new information an anchor. A simple question like, "Think back to the first time you heard about atomic orbitals, what were your first thoughts? What were the questions that came to your mind?” can make a huge difference. Putting what you are about to discuss in the context can be motivating for students. For example, “Now we are going to talk about the equation that governs their shapes and what those shapes even mean." 2. Foster a Culture of Psychological Safety - One of the most powerful things we can do as educators is to create a space where students feel safe to be vulnerable. This means celebrating questions and discussion. When a student starts a question with, "This might be a stupid question, but...", it's a critical moment. I make it a point to say, "There are no stupid questions." Being approachable and available outside of class is also key. I make a conscious effort to signal that my door is open and I am here to support them. 3. Connect Learning to the Real World - Students learn best by doing and by seeing how concepts apply to their lives. When designing assignments, I try to move beyond theory. I ask students to solve problems related to everyday experiences. I encourage them to look at the world around them through the lens of the course. This helps them see that science and engineering is everywhere, waiting to be discovered and understood. 4. Equip Students to Learn on Their Own - While we can use diverse teaching methods to cater to different learning styles, the reality is that we can't be everything to every student. This means empowering them to understand how they learn best. We need to educate them on the different learning strategies available and encourage them to experiment and discover what works for them. This shifts the focus from passively receiving information to actively taking ownership of their own education. Ultimately, great teaching is about much more than just conveying information. It's about building a relationship with students and helping them develop the skills to think critically and learn independently.

In my approach to teaching, I diverge from the conventional methods employed by others. While many start with the basics, such as teaching Excel, Power BI, and SQL from the ground up, I believe these are skills that can be self-learned through the abundance of content available on platforms like YouTube. My focus is on a more practical and applied learning experience, centered around projects and case studies. I firmly believe that individuals may be familiar with the tools but often lack the understanding of how to effectively apply them in a business context. My teaching style emphasizes real-world scenarios and practical applications, showcasing how these tools can be utilized to derive meaningful insights from data. This approach not only enhances technical skills but also equips learners with a strategic and problem-solving mindset, crucial for success in a professional setting. By immersing students in hands-on projects, they gain a deeper understanding of the tools and develop the ability to approach data with a purpose. This application-oriented method not only makes the learning experience more engaging but also ensures that the knowledge acquired is readily applicable in real-world business situations.

Quantum Computing Hits the Classroom: A Leap Toward Hands-On Education In a significant step for education and research, a team of scientists from IQM Quantum Computers has unveiled a fully operational, on-premises superconducting quantum computer designed for direct use in learning environments. This development marks a new chapter in the accessibility of quantum technology—one where students and researchers can engage with real qubits, not just simulations. The system, a 5-qubit superconducting quantum computer, isn’t just a demonstration model. It’s capable of supporting full-stack quantum computing tasks—from visualizing pulse shapes with oscilloscopes to exploring entanglement, calibration, and even simulating physical phenomena like neutrino oscillations. For those of us in the field of education and workforce development, this is more than just an engineering achievement. It represents a critical shift in how we prepare talent for quantum careers. By putting high-fidelity quantum tools directly into classrooms and labs, we’re giving learners the chance to move from theoretical understanding to practical insight. The research also emphasizes the value of using small-scale quantum systems to replicate meaningful scientific experiments—an approach that brings advanced research within reach of early-stage learners. From a pedagogical standpoint, that kind of accessibility is a game changer. As someone working to align students with future-focused careers, I believe this model deserves serious attention. It’s not just about innovation—it’s about inclusion. Full study here: https://lnkd.in/eWBXymFs